Some balcony stuff from Ikea not available here

Spotted some outdoor furnishing on the online ikea which may not be available locally. I have been to almost all corners of the local ikea store and and yet to see anything like this. A check online showed that of the 2 items, only the black Dyning balcony privacy screen may be available in store. However, this item in the range may be discontinued soon. 

I do like the idea of some screen covering the lower part of the balcony railing but I am not sure if black is the right color as it may be too attention seeking? Well, if only they have stock in white. 

DYNING

Balcony privacy screen, Black/White

$50

Article Number : 603.445.37

Shields from wind and sun and increases privacy on the balcony.

Size 250x80 cm

Care instructions

Machine wash, max 40°C, normal process.

Do not bleach.

Tumble drying, low temperature (max 60°C).

Iron, max 110°C.

Do not dryclean.

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/60344537/

Comes in 2 Colors, Black and white.

The white one is out of stock. The black one may be available in Alexandra store  but may be discontinued soon.

The product will soon be leaving our range, and may not come back in stock, so you might like to look for an alternative product.

This product is also available for online purchase. See “Buy online”.

SLÄTTÖ

Privacy screen, outdoor, black, brown stained

$159

Article Number : 902.853.34

You can easily create an extra room outdoors with the privacy screen.

Size 211x170 cm

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/90285334/

• You can easily create an extra room outdoors with the privacy screen.
• Perfect for your garden, terrace or balcony.
• Easy to adapt to your space by using one 3-panel screen or combining several.

• 3 panels included.
• Must be secured to the ground or to a rail.
• Tent pegs for fastening the privacy screen to soft surfaces like grass or earth included. Screws for hard surfaces like wooden decks and straps for attaching to balcony or terrace railing not included.
• Only recommended for outdoor use.

Care instructions

Textile
Do not wash.
Do not bleach.
Do not tumble dry.
Do not iron.
Do not dryclean.
Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Wood

Clean: With a mild soapy solution. Wipe dry with a clean and dry cloth.

Maintenance: To prevent the surface from drying out and cracking and moisture from penetrating into the wood we recommend you to re-stain the furniture on a regular basis, for example once or twice a year.

   

Post disclaimer:

This is NOT a paid advertisement nor sponsored/collaborated post. The above featured items is just one of many which I am considering for my new abode.

Dog proof balcony

http://dogzar.com/dogblog/2011/07/08/balcony-beware-how-to-protect-your-dog/

Balcony Storage Part 3

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/S79048457/

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/80291892/

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/S19048455/

Balcony Storage Part 1

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/50204924/

ÄPPLARÖ
Storage bench, outdoor, brown brown stained
$85

Article Number : 502.049.24
Besides storing away your gardening tools and plant pots, this storage bench also works as an extra seat or to put things on.

Size 80x41 cm

• Besides storing away your gardening tools and plant pots, this storage bench also works as an extra seat or to put things on.
• For added durability and so you can enjoy the natural expression of the wood, the furniture has been pre-treated with several layers of semi-transparent wood stain.

May be combined with ÄPPLARÖ wall panel.
Only recommended for outdoor use.

Care instructions

Clean: With a mild soapy solution. Wipe dry with a clean and dry cloth.
Maintenance: To prevent the surface from drying out and cracking and moisture from penetrating into the wood we recommend you to re-stain the furniture on a regular basis, for example once or twice a year.

Storing: If possible, store in a cool dry place indoors. If the furniture is stored outside, cover it with a waterproof cover. After a rain or snowfall, wipe off excess water or snow from flat surfaces. Allow air to circulate to avoid condensation.

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/S99917403/

ÄPPLARÖ
Bench w wall panel+ shelf, outdoor, brown stained

$204

Article Number : 999.174.03

For added durability and so you can enjoy the natural expression of the wood, the furniture has been pre-treated with several layers of semi-transparent wood stain.

Size 80x44x158 cm

• For added durability and so you can enjoy the natural expression of the wood, the furniture has been pre-treated with several layers of semi-transparent wood stain.

6 hooks included.
This furniture must be fixed to the wall.
Different wall materials require different types of fixing devices. Use fixing devices suitable for the walls in your home, sold separately.
Only recommended for outdoor use.

Care instructions

Clean: With a mild soapy solution. Wipe dry with a clean and dry cloth.
Maintenance: To prevent the surface from drying out and cracking and moisture from penetrating into the wood we recommend you to re-stain the furniture on a regular basis, for example once or twice a year.

Balcony Storage Part 2

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/S89133558/

IVAR
2 sections/shelves/drawers, pine, grey

$225.50

Article Number :
891.335.58
Since IVAR storage system is so good at what it does, it has faithfully served customers’ needs across the home for over 50 years. Attics, living rooms, pantries and bedrooms – they all love IVAR.
Size
134x30x179 cm

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/50214999/


IVAR
Cabinet, pine
$120

Article Number : 502.149.99
Since IVAR storage system is so good at what it does, it has faithfully served customers’ needs across the home for over 50 years. Attics, living rooms, pantries and bedrooms – they all love IVAR.

size: 80x30x83 cm



http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/80329055/#/20329058

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/S89893600/

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/90324236/

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/90192839/

http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/S19903042/

The Duck Muzzle

This is too hilarious not to share. Introducing the duck muzzle for pets from Korea! 

I was browsing online for pet stuff and I chanced upon this gimmick gadget. At first I thought this was some Halloween costume getup for pets but it turned out to be some ingenious gadget muzzle for pets. 

Not suitable for long wear though, nor for eating and drinking. Made of soft silicone and comes in 3 different sizes. The small one cost S$10, medium S$12, large S$14. Delivery is $3.90 by Qexpress. 

Just too darn cute!

Post Disclaimer:

This is NOT a paid advertisement nor sponsored/collaborated post. The above featured item is just one of the many interesting stuff which caught my eye. 

 

I have registered domain SanctuaireBleu.com!

I have registered for a web domain at SanctuaireBleu.com

The below websites are of great assistance in helping me forward this blog address to the new registered domain. I did the forwarding on 5 Nov and the process will take around 48 yours, so by 7 Nov, this blog address will point to my new registered domain at sanctuairebleu.com! Not more blogspot address!

Afternote:

Waited for 3 days and my blogspot blog still wasn't redirected to my customized domain. Did a check and realised some of the info was not registered and saved. So I redo all the steps again, saved it and it finally works!

Anyway when using the below steps, there is no need for an additional procedure to forward your customised .com domain address to your blogspot address.

https://www.thewonderforest.com/2017/02/how-to-set-up-custom-domain-in-blogger.html

https://www.shoutmeloud.com/setup-blogspot-custom-domain.html

My Adsense Status

As a reborn new blogger, I thought it would interesting to earn some pennies via this blog. As such I applied for Adsense under the Blogger site when my blog was  very much still in its infancy.

As such, i just received an email below that state that my AdSense application status was not approved due to insufficient content.

Anyway I did a search online and discovered that it is common for Adsense to not approve new blogs and it could take a few attempts to get approval. In fact some took more than 10 tries before they got adsense on their site!

Oh well, back to the drawing board, will apply again when I have accumulate enough post content.

Anyway, the main objective of this blog is to harness my vast collections of home renovation/decor inspirations, build on those final ideas and then finally follow through on them.

As mentioned in our welcome email, we conduct a second review of your AdSense application once AdSense code is placed on your site(s). As a result of this review, we have disapproved your account for the following violation(s):

We did not approve your application for the reasons listed below:

Insufficient content: To be approved for AdSense and show relevant ads on your site, your pages need to have enough text on them for our specialists to review and for our crawler to be able to determine what your pages are about.

To resolve this issue, please work through the following suggestions:

Make sure that your pages have sufficient text – websites that contain mostly images, videos or Flash animations will not be approved.

Your content should contain complete sentences and paragraphs, not only headlines.

Ensure that your website is fully built and launched before you apply for AdSense – do not apply while your site’s still in a beta or “under construction” phase or only consists of a website template.

Place the ad code on a live page of your website. It does not have to be the main page, but test pages that are empty except for the AdSense ad code will not be approved.

Provide a clear navigation system for your visitors so that they can easily find all of the sections and pages of your website.

If you’d like to monetise YouTube videos, please apply for the YouTube monetisation program. Note that blogs and websites that contain only videos will not be approved.

---------------------

To update and resubmit your application, please visit google.co.uk/adsense and sign in using the email address and password that you submitted with your application. Our specialists will review your account for compliance with our programme policies, so please make sure that you resolve all of the issues listed above before resubmitting your application.

What I think of Ikea

I have to admit that I am a very regular visitor to Ikea. I would visit it almost on a monthly basis. I am not ashamed to admit that I possess a Ikea family card that entitle me to free refills of coffee and discounted meals.

There is no similar concept furnishing store anywhere else just like Ikea. When I have the time and nowhere else to go, I would just wander off to Ikea. I could stroll around the place the whole day, looking for home decor inspirations and I do enjoy some of the overpriced food. Those fried chicken wings, meatballs and salmon!

However, I am not quite a fan of Ikea quality furniture/furnishing. Over the years, i have purchased quite a number of furniture, furnishings, accessories and mirrors from there. In fact more than from any other furniture store. Ikea  is a great place to find those affordable semi permanent in between furniture for home but honestly, I would not furnish my home entirely with just Ikea furniture.

Frankly, I wouldn’t invest much in some series of their furniture, because most of it is just particle board /pressed wood (basically wood particles/sawdust compressed together) and they simply don’t last very long.

I have bought 2 chest of drawers from Ikea over the years. The exterior and the frame of those drawers are quite sturdy. However, the interior base of each drawers is just so pathetically thin and flimsy that it could hardly hold much weight support. These collapse within 2 years and all I put in there was just bed sheets, bath towels and underwear.

Definitely Not Recommended!

I also owned 2 medium size solid wood extendable dining tables and for these the quality are still simply durably great!

Other great recommended buys are their closet organizers, dustbins or waste paper baskets, kitchen utensils, shower curtains, cushions, certain textiles, candles, candles holders, lamps, carpets etc.

Avoid their curtain rods and accessories at all costs, these rust and tarnish way too easily. Some of their lighting and lamps are of not bad quality but some are just so inferior cheesy looking.

I also owned several types of their paste on mirrors from Ikea over the years. These are definitely not recommended buys. The first two year the mirrors looked fine, however after that, the edge of those mirror start to deteriorate and tarnish. Kind of rotting within or something eating them from inside.

Paste on wall mirrors - Not recommended!

When shopping at IKEA, don't expect to find heirloom quality furniture that you can pass to the next generation. If it does last more than 5 years, you already had your money's worth.

Ikea is presumably well known for furniture made of compressed wood chips sandwiched between wood or plastic veneer. Such material is notoriously easily damage-prone, and something simple as over-tightening a screw could just split the fiberboard and leave behind some permanently wobbly piece of furniture.

Look out instead for furniture that is constructed from solid pieces of wood for quality items that will last a longer time.

Furniture made of solid wood—preferably some hardwood like oak or acacia, but even a softwood like Swedish pine—is always going to be sturdier than any type fiberboard.

While most of Ikea products are certainly affordable, durability is just not typically a common attribute. Very often affordability and quality do not go hand in hand, unless it is 2nd hand used furniture.

Mostly made from compressed particle board, IKEA furniture often does not stand up to years of use. Disassembling, reassembling and transporting the furniture during a move also could also shorten the product's lifespan.

While IKEA has been making an effort to address environmental concerns regarding eliminating toxins in their furniture materials, that could not considered entirely green conservation simply because it lacks that one very important feature of green furniture - durability. That is especially so of those more affordable furniture at IKEA.

To conclude, Ikea is a great place to shop if one is on a reasonable budget and looking for attractive semi permanent furniture/furnishing that they would like to change every few years. It let consumers explore their preferences, especially when they are not ready to invest in something of more outstanding quality just yet.

Below is my personal list of recommended  buys and don't. This is purely based on my own preferences observation and past purchases over the years.

 

Closet Organisers - Recommended!

Recommended Buys

Closet Organizers and inserts
Wardrobe dividers

Dining tables
Kitchen ware
Glassware
Knives
Kitchen utensils
Pots

Some curtains
Carpets
Cushions

Candles
Candles holders

Plants
Plants pots
Watering cans

Lamps
Lighting

Mirror with wooden frames

Some Book shelves
Office chairs

Non Recommended Buys

Paste on Mirrors
Chest of Drawers

Curtain rods
Curtains accessories

Sofa
Beds
Mattress
Bedsheets
Any furniture using particle board


Post disclaimer:
This is NOT a paid advertisement nor sponsored/collaborated post. The above featured item is just one of the many interesting stuff which caught my eye.

If it aint BLUE......it just won't do

One of my main rules for any purchases, being it furnishing, furniture, fixtures, accessories, textile etc, for the new abode is very simple, if it ain't blue, it just won't do.

I find that this helps me to focus on those things that I really want in my new home. If it aint BLUE, chances are I won't take a second look most of time. So most times, when I am in retail shops or even online shopping, I will only zoom in only on the blue stuff. If it ain't blue, its out.

However, though my main color theme is that of blue, I am still acceptable of furnishing/accessories of compatible matching colors of white or even black, gold or even silver. Even a dash of the occasional Red.

But other contrasting colors like green, purple, yellow, orange etc would probably not have any chance of appearing in thy new abode.

This very simple strictly implemented rule has certainly helped in curbing a lot of my unnecessary purchases.

That IKEA foldable table.

There's not much room in my new abode for a proper dining table. I am not a fan of fine dining nor sit down dining. I just need a small fold-able table that can extend itself when needed and folded into smaller compact size when not in use.

Requirement Conditions:
Solid Wood, movable, extendable, fold-able, collapsible, space saving. Fits into design style and color theme.

What i like most about this particular table is that it can be folded to about 20%? of its full length when not in use. Extremely space saving! The build and frame of this table looks sturdy enough though the sides and full extendable length probably cannot hold too much heavy stuff. But I think it's great for that occasion casual dining.

Over the years I have owned 2 decent size bulky medium size Ikea folding dining table which is about double this size below. But in the new place, space is a such rare luxury that we can ill afford so I probably wouldn't bring those over.

Chances are that I will probably get one of this in birch, place it in the balcony and stain it blue to match the rest of the furniture and color theme. 

NORDEN Gateleg table, birch/white, 26/89/152x80 cm

$249

http://m.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/art/70365794/

http://m.ikea.com/sg/en/catalog/products/art/40365795/

Post disclaimer:
This is NOT a paid advertisement nor sponsored/collaborated post. The above featured item is just one of many which I am considering for my new abode.